Frozen Over

Chapter 1

"Papa! Mama! Look, I found a flower!" The young boy said, dashing into the small wooden cabin with a white daisy in his hands.
It was a luxury, finding a thing like a flower in their snowy wonderland.
"Mama! Mama!" The black haired child screamed as he ran into the small kitchen where his dark haired mother stood washing a few dishes.
The woman slowly wiped her hands on the dish towel sitting on the counter beside her. She then turned to the young boy standing behind her with a smile. She bent down, now able to look the boy directly in the eyes. "What did you find, Gray?"
Gray gave the beautiful daisy to his mother with a large smile on his face. "Mama, look! It's a white flower! What kind of flower is it, Mama?"
Mika smiled as she twirled the daisy in her fingers. "It's a daisy, my dear boy."
"Daisy?" Gray said with a smile, jumping up and down as he did. "Daisy!"
Mika giggled and brought the young boy into her arms, cuddling him close to her. "Is this what you were doing outside all day?"
Gray nodded and smiled at his mother as he wrapped his arms around her neck. "I could only find one. I want more flowers, Mama! They're so pretty!"
The woman smiled as she brought the boy into the fire lit living room. She set him down on the hard, oak floor with a smile and gently kissed his dark hair.
"Where's Papa, Mama?" Gray asked, looking up to the woman with curious eyes.
"He'll be home soon, don't you worry," Mika said, placing the daisy in Gray's hand. "Make sure you keep that safe, okay?"
Gray nodded quickly and clutched the flower in his hands with a smile.
"Good," his mother said with a smile and walked back to the kitchen, continuing her dishes.
Gray quickly dashed to the small room at the back of the house. The room that held only a small bed and a small dresser.
Gray placed the small, delicate flower on his bed with a smile. The soft, blue sheets sat on the bed along with a pillow at the head.
Suddenly, a sigh escaped the boy's lips. "Papa's never home. I miss him," the boy whispered to himself.
The oak door slammed as the large man, walked himself inside. "Mika! I'm home," the man screamed, his normal large smirk on his face.
Gray looked up, a large smile forming on his lips. "Papa," he whispered to himself.
"Silver!" Mika said with a smile as she walked into the living room to see the large man smirking.
Silver held open his arms for a hug, which the woman quickly ran toward to be held in a tight embrace.
"I missed you," Silver whispered in her ear.
A few tears appeared in Mika's eyes as she kept her head on his shoulder. "I missed you too."
"Papa?" Gray asked, shyly standing in the doorway as if to make sure it was really his father.
The two slid out of their embrace, each of them turning to the small boy in the doorway.
"How has my Gray been?" Silver asked, bending down so he was the same height as the boy.
Mika smiled at the two, her arms crossed in front of her.
Gray smiled as tears formed in his eyes. "P-Papa," Gray said smiling at the man in front of him.
Silver held out his arms, inviting the boy in for a hug.
Gray's smile grew as tears fell down his face. "Papa!" He screamed, running forward into the man's arms. "I missed you, Papa!"
Silver held the boy close, one of his hands gently caressing Gray's dark hair. "Don't cry. Please, don't cry. I'm here now, and I won't leave you."
Gray's tears wet the man's shoulder as he stood up, still holding the child.
"I made some supper. Are you two hungry?" Mika asked, walking into the small kitchen.
Silver smiled and carried Gray into the kitchen, setting him down in one of the chairs at the small round table. He then sat in the chair next to him. "What's for supper tonight, my dear?"
Mika placed a plate in front of each of the males. "Eat up, boys," she said, kissing Gray's head with a small smile.
＜・・・・・・＞
The young girl sat at the back of the classroom, her hands folded on her desk as she looked at them.
"Juvia?" The teacher called from the front of the room.
"Hm?" The blunette muttered, quickly looking up, back to attention.
The class laughed at their, making her blush in embarrassment.
The teacher cleared her throat and pointed to the board, "Could you please come to the front of the class and spell one of our words for us?"
Juvia nodded solemnly, her blue ponytail bobbing on her head. She walked to the front of the class, her cheeks still scarlet. She cleared her throat and said, "H-Hydration. H-Y-D-R-A-T-I-O-N." It was the only one out of the ten words she knew how to spell.
"Very good. 'Ecosystem' is the next word."
Juvia looked up to the teacher and said, "B-But you said only one?"
"One more, Juvia."
Juvia sighed and thought a bit before saying, "Ecosystem. E-C-O-S-Y-S-T-U-M." She knew it was wrong, but she didn't know what else to say.
"Please sit down." Ms. Dannum said, standing up again to continue with the lesson.
The other students chuckled as Juvia quietly walked back to her seat, red in the face as she did.
The day went on and slowly ended, the class being dismissed to grab their things and go home.
Juvia jumped at the chance, beating the other kids to their cubby holes to grab her small blue book bag. She walked outside, the other children laughing and pointed at her as she did.
"Juvia is so dumb. She can't even spell. What an idiot!"
"No one even likes her. Even her own mom and dad didn't want her."
"She's a weirdo. She never talks and always sits in the back of class."
The girl ignored the others, her head hanging as she waited outside the school.
"Juvia!" A boy screamed, running out of the building. His dark black hair was longer than normal boys' hairs, his eyes an abnormal color of dark red.
Juvia's head came up, looking at the boy who came toward her. "Hi Gajeel. Ready to go?"
The dark haired boy nodded and started walking down the small sidewalk, Juvia trailing a bit behind him.
"Hard day?" He asked, still walking ahead of her.
Juvia nodded quietly. "Yeah. I had to spell ecosystem in front of the whole class and I messed up."
Of course Juvia told Gajeel everything. The two were each children in a small orphanage in the small town. Juvia never knew her parents, Gajeel being given up by his parents at a young age.
The boy turned around so he was walking backwards, looking at the sad girl. "Don't worry," he said, ruffling her perfect blue hair. "You'll get it next time. I know you can do it."
Juvia nodded, still looking down as Gajeel turned so he could again see where he was going.
The two then kept quiet the rest of the way until they reached the orphanage.
Gajeel pushed the large doors open for Juvia, who quickly ran inside and upstairs to the small room she called her own.
The boy shook his head with a sigh and whispered, "Juvia."
Juvia closed the door behind her while the tears rimmed her eyes. It was the only place she could cry without feeling weak and humiliated. The silent tears fell down her face as she dropped the school bag on her floor and walked over to the mirror to look at herself.
"Why don't they like me?" Juvia whispered to herself. "Why do they hate me?"
She hit her fist again the mirror, more tears falling and hitting the soft, white carpet beneath her socked feet. She fell to her knees, covering her face with her hands.
"W-Why? W-Why can't I be like the others? Why do I have to be different?"
＜・・・・・・＞
Years passed. Soon the young Juvia and Gray had become teenagers, almost adults.
＜・・・・・・＞
"Give it back, Natsu!" Lucy screamed, running after the pink haired boy who held one of her collectible keys in his hands.
"No! It's shiny and I want it!" Natsu said with a mocking laugh.
Gray laid back on the blonde's bed, his head hitting the soft, pink blanket.
"Natsu!" Lucy whined, her usually pale face now bright red. "Give it back!" She wore a yellow top that showed part of her stomach and denim shorts. Her hair was tied in two pigtails on the sides of her head, showing her golden key earrings.
"Maybe. You gotta give me something if you want it!" Natsu said with a smirk. The boy wore a red t-shirt with black, mesh basketball shorts. It was a normal attire for the boy, as he was one who didn't much dress up.
"What do you want?" The blonde asked, her arms crossed in front of her.
Natsu brought Lucy close to him and gently kissed her lips. "There." He dropped the small key in her hands with a smirk.
Lucy pulled herself up, her face now brighter than before. "N-Natsu." She whispered stubbornly, putting the key back with the others.
Gray sighed and pulled himself up. "Could we please just get ready for that party we have tonight? You two are grossing me out."
Lucy giggled, her face still red.
"We still have fifteen minutes before we need to be there. Don't get anxious," Natsu replied with a smirk, checking the black watch on his wrist.
Gray rolled his eyes and grabbed the two by their wrists. "Come on," he whined while pulling the two out of Lucy's house and to the driveway.
Natsu glared at him as he took Lucy's hand and led her to his bright red car.
Gray screamed, "Race ya, Pinky!" He jumped into the black car and quickly started the engine, pulling out of the driveway before Natsu.
"You asshole, Gray!" Natsu said with a smirk before quickly starting the car and driving after the other boy.
＜・・・・・・＞
The three arrived at the large house on the hill in no time. Normally, it would have taken at least twenty minutes to get from Lucy's house to Jellal's house, the number one place for high school parties in their small town.
With the same ruthless smirk on his face, Gray opened the door of his black car. "Beat you."
Natsu glared at him with crossed arms, being his stubborn self when he lost. He had Lucy by his side who just smiled and giggled.
"Seems Erza's beat us yet again," Gray said, crossing his arms defiantly in front of him.
"A lot of people have, Gray," Lucy told him with a small smirk as she started pulling Natsu toward the white door in front of them.
Gray followed behind them, his arms still in front of him as he looked around.
Jellal had a very large house which was one of the reasons the party's were always at his house. The other reason was Erza, Jellal's girlfriend and also Lucy, Natsu, and Gray's other best friend. Erza was the splitting image of beautiful, her flowing scarlet hair cascading down her back. She was known for her red hair and great parties.
The three friends walked into the dimly lit house, each smiling as they did. It was a normal Saturday night for them, going to party or hanging out together.
Bright different colored lights were shining around the large dark room. The music blasted through the speakers making it almost seem as the house shook with each pound of the beat.
"Gray, you mind if we run off?" Lucy asked with a large smile, poking the other male on the shoulder.
Gray shook his head with a smirk and replied, "Not at all. Enjoy your last day of summer lovebirds."
Natsu waved as Lucy pulled him along and toward the back of the house, it not being a mystery on what they were going to do. Though it did surprise Gray they were running off at the beginning of the party. Usually, the two wouldn't go off on their own until they had found Erza or at least had a few drinks.
'Natsu as eager as ever,' Gray guessed, walking himself through the dimly lit house. He decided he should find Erza, inform her the three had arrived. Though, he knew he'd be left out by her as well. Since Erza started dating Jellal, the other three didn't see her as often. Jellal went to a different school than the other four, Antle High School, unlike the others who went to Fiore High School. It was a miracle Erza hadn't transferred yet. The two were obviously the couple everyone saw and were jealous of.
Gray had soon found the red head sitting with a few girls from Antle, probably gossiping as usual.
"Erza," Gray called walking closer to the girl, avoiding bumping into people who ran through the hallways.
"Gray! You guys finally made it," Erza said with a smile, embracing Gray.
"They ran off," Gray explained as she looked for Lucy and Natsu behind him.
"As usual," she replied with a giggle.
The other girls looked at Gray, envious that he was taking up Erza's time and not themselves.
"Oh yeah, Gray. Jellal to talk to you, I think he's over by the bar," Erza said, now also able to see the envy aroused on the girls' faces.
Gray nodded and said, "Alright. Thanks, Erza. Talk to you later?"
Erza gave him a nod, a smile still on her face.
As Gray walked toward the bar, he thought to himself. It was very strange, the way Erza had said that. It was like she was hiding something from him. But he pushed the thought away, probably just his imagination.
The boy had soon reached the bar, finding the blue haired boy easily. The tattoo around his eye gave him away.
"Jellal!" Gray called, walking toward to the boy and slapping his back.
"There you are Gray! Did Erza send you?" Jellal asked, taking another drink of his beer in the bright red cup.
Gray nodded and asked, "You wanted to talk to me?"
Jellal shook his head, "Yes, but it can wait." He handed Gray a red glass, which he took with no question.
"Oh," Gray said, nodding his head as he took a drink from the glass. "Thanks."
Jellal nodded with a small smile when his phone buzzed. He took the phone out of his pocket and slid the screen open. He smirked at the text and then put the phone back in his pocket. "Duty calls!" With that, he ran toward the direction Gray had come from after talking to Erza.
Gray shook his head and walked toward the dance floor, hoping to get past it without spilling his drink.
The dance floor was full of drunk people dancing and twerking on each other. Some were sober, having a good time just dancing on the floor.
Suddenly, the dark haired boy felt a hard push on his back, someone had run into him and with a thunk had fallen down.
Somehow, Gray had been able to steady his drink. While steadying himself, he turned around to see a girl at his feet.
The girl was on her bottom, a girl Gray had never seen before. She had light blue, curly hair that went a few inches past her shoulders. She wasn't looking at Gray, so the boy couldn't see the beautiful face of the maiden. She wore a dark blue party dress which went perfectly with the blue hair.
"Hey, I'm sorry," Gray said after setting his drink on a table. He held a strong hand out to the girl.
"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," the soft voice said, looking up to the large hand and taking it into her petite one.
The girl was beautiful, her bright blue eyes were shining in the dim light. Her pale skin was clear and smooth, her petite figure fitting her perfectly. There was a small blush on her cheeks as she smiled kindly at Gray, their hands still connected between them.
"I'm Gray," the boy said, his face still in awe of the beautiful one in front of him.
The girl giggled as she replied, "I'm Juvia." The blush was still on her cheeks, seeming as if it would never disappear.
Gray shook his head, snapping himself out of the trance of the beautiful girl. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean-." He was cut off by Juvia's laughter, making his face become a light shade of pink.
"I already told you," Juvia said, still giggling. "There's no need to apologize. I'm fine, I just hope you are." The girl dropped Gray's hand, bringing it up to her still pink cheek.
"I'm fine!" Gray said quickly, waving his hands in front of him like a weirdo.
Juvia giggled again, gently placing a hand on Gray's waving hands. "You look like an idiot when you do that," Juvia said, smiling up at him with dark cheeks.
Gray smiled at her, pulling his hands back to his sides so he didn't seem as embarrassed as he actually was.
Juvia brought her hand to her side, smiling at the large male in front of her. Her white smile was beautiful, her dark blue dress reflecting the neon lights that were shining on them.
Gray noticed every detail about her, even the things that didn't even seem important. There was something about her that interested him, not only her looks but her personality as well.
"Juvia!" Someone called, making the two turn to look toward the group of people dancing around the floor. It seemed the voice had been calling from the group, but suddenly a girl appeared from the crowd, almost falling on the bluenette.
"Juvia! I finally found you!" The pink haired girl hiccuped, leaning on Juvia for support to stand up.
"Meredy," Juvia sighed, shaking her head. "Again?"
Meredy hiccuped, smiling like an idiot. "Gosh, this guy's cute," Meredy said, getting up so she could then lean on Gray.
Gray looked at Meredy with large eyes, then averted his eyes back to Juvia.
"Meredy," Juvia groaned, pulling the pink haired girl off of Gray. "You're drunk. How about we go find Ultear?" Juvia said in a comforting tone.
Meredy nodded as she closed her eyes, leaning on Juvia for support.
Juvia smiled and looked to Gray apologetically. "I'll meet you in a little bit?" She asked.
Gray chuckled and nodded, "Of course. I'll find you."
Juvia giggled and smiled, pulling Meredy along through the crowd toward the bar.
＜・・・・・・＞
"Thanks a lot, Meredy," Juvia mumbled. The pink haired teen was sprawled across Juvia's shoulders.
"What's the matter, Juvia? Do you like him?" Meredy said with a smirk and a wink.
Juvia's cheeks turned a dark red, standing up straight right away. "N-No. We were just talking. I ran into him." Juvia quickly explained.
Meredy wiggled her eyebrows and said, "That's how it always starts. Boy and girl bump into each other and love at first sight."
"Meredy!" Juvia exclaimed. "I-It wasn't like that, I swear! We were just having a friendly conversation!"
The pink haired girl giggled and shook Juvia with excitement, singing, "Juvia has a boyfriend! Juvia had a boyfriend!"
"Meredy stop!" Juvia exclaimed, putting a hand over Meredy's mouth as she dragged her closer to the bar. "If you tell Ul about this I'll kill you."
The two girls reached the bar, Juvia looking around for the dark purple haired woman. Ultear was older than the other girls, a young woman who was in her second year of college. But she still hung out with Juvia and Meredy, mostly because they were like little sisters to her.
"Ul!" Juvia called, finally spotting the woman and dragging Meredy toward her.
The young woman turned to face the teenagers with a large smile. "Juvia! Meredy!" Ultear called, running toward the two.
"Can you please take her?" Juvia asked, passing Meredy onto Ultear.
"Did you get drunk sweetie?" Ultear asked, gently pulling Meredy's hair back. Her gesture was so motherly, so gentle.
Meredy shook her head defiantly. "N-No. I'm not," she said with a small hiccup. "I swear."
Ultear laughed and pulled Meredy's arm around her shoulder. "Come on. Let's get you home," Ultear said. She then looked over to Juvia and said, "Do you mind if I take her home?"
Juvia shook her head and said, "Go ahead. I can get a ride home with Gajeel."
Ultear smiled gratefully, her sparkling eyes looking tired. The girl always had something going on, tests or her job. It was a very rare occasion she was at a party, especially with high schoolers. The woman then dragged Meredy out of the house, toward the car hat sat at the end of the lane.
Juvia waved goodbye, a smile on her face as she did. "Bye, Ul!" She called cheerfully, closing the large door behind the two. She then turned back to the party, the loud music now being cranked up a few notches. It always seemed to get louder as the party progressed, and once Jellal had ran off with Erza people thought they could take over.
The blue haired teenager made her way back to the dance floor, hoping to find Gray yet again. As she walked through the crowd of people, she made sure not to bump into anyone.
"Juvia!" A voice called from the opposite side of the room, next to the DJ stand.
The bluenette stood on her tip-toes to look over all of the people on the dance floor. It didn't help much, as she was very short. She sighed, giving up and walking in the direction the voice came from.
Gray leaned against the large booth that held a young man spinning various music on the spinning wheel.
Juvia made her way through the large crowd, smiling as she saw Gray was the one who had shouted her name.
Gray returned the smile, taking a quick sip of his drink before setting it on the table sitting next to them. "I see your friend is gone?" Gray asked with a chuckle, acting as if he was searching for the drunk pinkie.
Juvia nodded and watched as Gray leaned against the DJ booth. "I had a friend take her home," she explained, smiling as she crossed her arms in front of her. She looked around the room, then back at Gray.
Gray smiled at her, watching as she looked around the whole room.
Almost gradually, a slow song began to play, making Gray shake his head with a smile.
"Looks as if fate wants us to dance together," he said, holding his hand out to the beautiful girl in front of him.
Juvia smiled with a light blush on her cheeks, taking his hand in her own and following him out on the dance floor. Her hands met as they wrapped around Gray's neck, Gray's hands meeting as he wrapped them around her waist.
"I've seen you before," Juvia confessed. "At one of these parties. You were always with some boy and girl, I even saw you hanging out with Erza once."
"If you've came to as many of these parties as me, we were bound to meet sometime. Yeah, those two are my friends, Natsu and Lucy. They're alright, but they've been less fun to hang out with since they started dating. I hang out with Erza too, just not as much since she started dating Jellal," Gray explained.
The two swayed to the beat, each of them looking at each other with sincere looks.
"So you're the lonely one out?" Juvia asked with a smirk and a small wink.
"I guess you could say that," Gray said with a chuckle.
Juvia giggled as the two began to move closer, the small bit of warm air the only thing separating the two.
"It's been a lot like that for me, but that's mostly because all of my friends are older than me," Juvia said, looking up at Gray with happy eyes. Her eyes were shining so brightly, so brightly.
"Well, I'm your friend," Gray said with a smile, "and I'm your age."
"How would you know that?" Juvia asked with a smirk. "How do you know I'm not crazy and just planning to kill you?" She couldn't help but laugh, as she knew she was kidding.
"Well, are you?" Gray asked with a small smirk, pulling her closer to him.
Juvia blushed as she stood on her toes and whispered in his ear, "I might be."
The boy smiled down at her as she pulled back.
"I guess we'll never know?" Gray questioned, the song slowly coming to the end.
Juvia smiled and shrugged as the song played it's last note, kissing Gray's cheek before whispering, "I'll see you around." She then pulled away with a smirk and started walking toward the exit of the house, a tall black haired man waiting there for her as they exited the house.

Author's Note: A new fanfic! Yay! I'm so excited for this fanfic because I have plans, and I'll be able to get chapters out as fast as possible. I'll be updating my other stories as soon as I can. And, other new stories will be coming out as well! It'd mean a lot if you could leave me a comment and a favorite. Love you all, thank you!